Snap is giving up on its neat little Pixy drone just four months after announcing it, according to a new report on Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal says Snap has ‘scrapped development’ on the product, which enabled users to capture hands-free selfies from above.
According to the report, the Pixy is collateral damage of the economic downturn. The social network is undergoing a “reprioritisation of company resources” following deep stock price losses this summer, the sources say. Snap has yet to confirm the news, but it would be a surprise to see the Pixy fall by the wayside so quickly.
It appeared to us that the mini-drone was precisely the kind of irreverent and fun gadget that fit well with the Snapchat proposition, and we were looking forward to it flying across the Atlantic and landing on UK shores.
The boxy little $249 handheld UAV was designed to take to the skies with the tap of a button and steadily hover to snap photos of you and your crew. When done shooting, Pixy was designed to land in the palm of your hand.
There were modes for shooting from above (reveal), following the leader (follow), and flying around the subject to capture the entire scene (orbit). Users could set the dial on the device before takeoff, while the device’s navigation was handled by the bottom camera.
The hardware, which was somewhat of a successor to the Snapchat Specs range, offered a rechargeable battery with 5-8 flights per charge. There was 16GB of storage, with pairing handled by Bluetooth. Including the battery, it weighed just 101g too. Of course, it doesn’t rival the high end drones that specialise in videography, but it was a fun and versatile little novelty nonetheless.
Are you sat to see Pixy cut from the team before it even gets off the ground? Or was this a novelty item that was destined to crash land? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
